BARIPADA: For the last six years, Bhagaban Mohanty’s life has been confined to a cot inside his ramshackle hut. Mentally-challenged, the 35-year-old man of Gudugudia village within Kaptipada police limits of Mayurbhanj district, remains tied to the cot with a plastic rope throughout the day. He gets violent at times which makes it necessary to chain him, his family members reason. Unable to afford medical help, his poor family has now sought government help for his treatment.
Bhagaban’s wife works in the local anganwadi centre to eke out living while his parents, Parshuram and Ratnamani Mohanty, are unable to work due to old age. His younger brother Sudarshan supplements the family income by working as a daily labourer after passing the matriculation examination. Despite their poor financial condition, Bhagaban and his family members are deprived of any government help. All they have is a dilapidated hut that stands on five decimals of land.
Parshuram (65) says Bhagaban suffered from mental illness in 2011, a year after his marriage. A graduate, he was doing odd jobs to earn his livelihood. “We have spent all our savings on his treatment but there has been no change in his health condition so far. We have to tie him to the cot to keep him under control as he becomes violent many times,” he says.
The family is not enrolled for the Public Distribution Scheme and Parshuram and his wife do not get old age pension. “Even the `300 that government gives under old age pension scheme could have come as a big help for us. Due to our old age, we cannot travel to the Collector’s grievance cell to apprise him about our situation,” he adds.
Earlier, some villagers had requested the local representatives to provide a house to the family under Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awas Yojana, pension to Parshuram and Ratnamani under Madhu Babu Pension Yojana and a health card to Bhagaban. However, none of the local leaders have paid heed.
Contacted, Udala Sub-Collector, Pravat Kumar Mohapatra said he will ask the Kaptipada BDO to visit the family and initiate steps to provide government help to it.